Simultaneous Growth of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua

Abstract

Listeria spp. have been isolated from a wide variety of sources, and in many situations Listeria innocua is more commonly found than Listeria monocytogenes. Growth of three L. monocyto- genes strains was studied when inoculated simultaneously with a rhamnose negative L. innocua strain into culture media and cheese sauce. Fraser broth (FB), Trypticase™ soy broth plus 0.6% yeast extract (TSB-YE), University of Vermont medium (UVM) modi- fied Listeria enrichment broth, and cheese sauce were inoculated (ca. 102 cells per ml) and incubated for 24 h; FB, TSB-YE, and cheese sauce at 35°C, UVM at 30°C. Growth of four rhamnose- positive, L. innocua strains was also studied in culture media. Growth of L. monocytogenes was similar to that for L. innocua in TSB-YE or cheese sauce. However, in FB and UVM, L. innocua populations were significantly higher than L. monocytogenes. This occurred when media were inoculated individually or simulta- neously. This may explain in part why L. innocua is isolated more frequently than L. monocytogenes from foods and environmental samples.